You Decide Who You Want to Be

I’ve had a lot of people ask me “How do you find the time to do everything?” With a full-time job, a wife, my daughter, my son on the way, going to the gym, a podcast, and trying to keep up my blog and social presence, it is absolutely a challenge but it is one that I wouldn't give up for anything. In fact being as busy as I am has actually made me feel more fulfilled than ever. My big secret is a simple one. I've changed my mind set and surrounded myself with people who have the same goals as I do. Changing my mindset took time. It's easy to fall into that trap of saying “I don't have time” or “If only I had one less thing, then I could do these others.” But the truth is, you are the only thing holding you back. I don't want to get preachy, but it is the truth. Once you realize you do have time, you just need to prioritize what you want and you will be amazed at how much you can get done. When I made the choice to do more, the first thing I did was decide what I was willing to give up to do the things that I wanted to do. One of my biggest time sucks, games. And I don't mean cool PlayStation games, I mean ridiculous games on my phone that meant nothing and ended up costing me more money than I care to admit. By dropping the games I was able to pick up a book. Which allowed me to be better at my job and awaken my drive. Making that change and feeling better about what I was doing, opened me up to new ideas of what I could implement into my life. It took me about a month before I developed a solid routine. It was tough; but once I got over that hump, I was gold. Surrounding myself with people who had similar goals was another game changer for me. Their drive and motivation feeds my own and keeps me moving forward. They also give me a sense of accountability. I'm afraid of letting them down, so I keep pushing and put my excuses to bed. Whether it's the other athletes and coaches in my CrossFit class, my co-workers, or the co-hosts on my Podcast, I know that I am responsible for something bigger than myself. But above all I know I want to be better for my family. My wife who holds the entire family together, my parents and sister who I want to make proud, my extended family (In-Laws seems like such an odd word), and of course the example I want to set for my daughter and my future son. Seeing who they are and who they will become makes me work twice as hard. Because the last thing I want to do is let them down. In short, decide who you want to be and go after it. Surround yourself with people who support that decision and listen to them. Cut out the things in your life that don't make you better, because in the end, no one will care what your score was on Candy Crush.